- Landon Lee was compared to NBA player Stephen ‘Steph’ Curry
- Ten-month-old nicknamed ‘Stuff Curry’ and branded ‘obese’ by bullies
- His mother Jessica Benton, 39, decided to ‘own’ the cruel meme
- Landon, from Quincy, Illinois, now has 50,000 Instagram followers
Sara Malm for MailOnline
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A mother whose baby boy was fat-shamed by internet bullies has hit back – by trademarking their cruel nickname for her son.
Jessica Benton’s 10-month-old son Landon was unfavourably compared to NBA player Stephen Curry, and turned into a widely shared internet meme as ‘Stuff Curry’.
However, instead of letting the bullies get to her and her son, Ms Benton, 39, from Quincy, Illinois, decided to own ‘Stuff Curry’ – quite literally – and Landon is now an Instagram celebrity.
Baby got back: Landon Lee was targeted by internet trolls and branded ‘fat’ by online bullies, but his mother Jessica Benton decided to turn the bullying into a force for good
Baby Landon Lee has nearly 50,000 followers on his Instagram account that was set up by Ms Benton to practice her photography skills and chronicle her young son’s life.
However, what Ms Benton did not expect was the online bullying that would follow the innocent pictures of her adorable son.
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It was his likeness to 28-year-old basketball player Stephen ‘Steph’ Curry that kicked off his online fame – and not in a nice way.
‘Somebody came across his post and re-posted one of his pictures on Facebook,’ Ms Benton told ABC. ‘They took his picture without me knowing and said, “Give little man a nickname”.
Peas in a pod: It was Landon’s likeness to NBA player Stephen Curry that gave him the nickname ‘Stuff Curry’
Instafame: Landon, 10 months, has nearly 50,000 followers on his Instagram account
Baby love: Ms Benton, 39, decided to stand up to the internet bullies who targeted her baby son
‘Someone said, ”Stuff Curry”, and by the time I noticed it, it had been shared like 50,000 times and there were comments out the wazoo with like 20,000 shares on Twitter.
‘I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want my child’s photo out there like that.’
‘Stuff Curry’ soon went viral, and with it came comments about Landon’s size with the baby boy being branded fat and obese.
While hurt by the comments about her son, Ms Benton decided to turn it into something positive and use the bullies’ own words as a weapon against them.
Stuff daddy: Landon wearing a personalised Warriors jersey with the number 30 – that of Stephen Curry
Beauty: Ms Benton is pictured while pregnant with Landon last year
Landon Lee is now often seen on T-shirts branded with slogans such as ‘Bullies No Bueno’, ‘Anti-bullying Squad’ and – of course – ‘#StuffCurry’.
Ms Benton revealed how the anti-bullying cause is particularly close to her heart as her 20-year-old son committed suicide while she was pregnant with Landon.
She told ABC that her son, Kevin, had suffered bullying throughout school which may have contributed to his decision to end his life.
She now hopes that Landon will inspire others to fight back against bullies, and stand up for themselves and their loved ones against online trolls.
Hitting back: Landon is often pictured wearing shirts and hats with anti-bullying messages
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